Catching Up...

I'm going to attempt to blog again...regularly. Even if no one reads what I write, I'll have managed to sort things out and hopefully get centered again...

My New Year's Resolutions were to return to college and reconnect with friends and family. I am pleased to announce that this is probably the first year of 50 years of resolutions that I'm committed to fulfilling.

I am an online student at Prince Institute of Birmingham, AL, double majoring in court reporting and close captioning. It's the most difficult curricula I've ever encountered, but so far, I'm earning straight As.

I've reached out to friends and family through the telephone (thank God I have Magic Jack!), and through Facebook. When I finish school and relocate (hopefully to New England), I would love to get together with my former St. Clare High classmates. I missed our one and only reunion held this past October.

Important Links for you!

Vote for my beautiful daughter here:

http://www.exploremodeling.com/Contest/Female_Faceof_KJP_09/6475/Monique_Langlois.aspx

and have fun with this link that tells you which celebrities you look like when you upload a photo:

http://celebrity.myheritage.com/celebrity-face-recognition

Thanks to myspace friends, twitter friends, and Facebook friends, plus the ChaCha Guides, Expeditors, Translators and MODs, my daughter has been steadily bypassing other potential models for the Kiel James Patrick modeling contest.

Please continue to vote each day until the contest ends August 18th.

YOU can make her dream come true!

This is my gorgeous daughter, Monique.



If you click on this link: http://www.exploremodeling.com/Contest/Female_Faceof_KJP_09/6475/Monique_Langlois.aspx

and then click on "Vote for Me" you will move this lovely, accomplished young lady closer to her goal of winning a modeling assignment.

Voting costs nothing but a few seconds of your time.

Monique (who appeared in "27 Dresses" with Katherine Heigle)could win $1,000 and $500 in merchandise from Kiel James Patrick Bracelets.

Please cast your vote for this summa cum laude graduate today and every day until August 18th when the contest ends.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

The Loss of A Friend

Our good friend and neighbor, Eugene "Uncle Bunk" McCullough, passed away unexpectedly last Friday night, April 27th.

Gene had successfully undergone knee surgery the day before and had even participated in a rehab session that morning. On Friday evening, he told his son over the phone that he was feeling great and eager to resume his usual activities.

Gene was gainfully employed and enjoyed the outdoors: gardening and fishing, in particular.

Shortly after speaking to his son, Randy, Gene, assisted by nurses, was ambulatory. After the nurses settled him back in his room and returned to the main desk, they realized Gene had pressed his call button. By the time they returned to his room, he had passed away.

He was revived and taken to ICU where he died ten minutes later.

******************

Many, many people attended Gene's wake and funeral service, family and friends, co-workers, service buddies...

People wanted to pay respect to this man who excelled in generosity and kindness to all, who faced life with a smile and a keen sense of humor no matter the obstacles he faced.

Gene "Uncle Bunk" was a great source of humorous stories and practical advice, and he will be terribly missed.

But, remembered often.

I'm Baaack...

Just as I was getting the hang of blogging, my five-year-old Presario laptop crashed for the third and final time. Woe was I!

Then I found this Acer laptop "cheaponsale" as my daughter Monique would exclaim after we'd arrive home laden with shopping finds when she was little.



Earlier in the month, I'd replaced my Presario with a desktop model but due to an old neck fracture, gazing up at the monitor not only made my neck ache, but made me queasy and gave me a headache. So, off to WalMart again to exchange the dinosaur for another laptop.

The Acer is smaller than the Presario was, but it has 1GB of RAM and many nifty new features like wireless LAN, which will come in handy just as soon as I learn how to operate them.

Another new addition to our life was this 2007 Toyota Yaris Liftback which boasts 40mpg on the highway and 37mpg in the city. She's a dream to drive ~ especially after having to limp to town the past 3 years ~ and as great on gas as advertised. She's just the ticket for hauling gardening supplies home and ferrying the pets to the vet's...



During the time I was detoxing from no longer having access to a pc, and still without transportation, I tackled the eating area portion of our kitchen. I had lived with blindingly white walls for 2 1/2 years, which was downright sadistic to someone prone to migraines complete with light sensitivity.

I've spent the last fifteen frustrating minutes trying to move the "before" and "after" pics of my newly renovated kitchen to no avail. Bear with me. Computer geek I am not.

Anyway, still to be done, is to rag roll paint the burgundy stain over the parchment colored base (fancy term for 'beige') in the working part of my kitchen, wait for the hutch to arrive, and enjoy!

Oh yeah, and hem the floral drapes I sewed and hung prematurely over the patio doors.

I'd also like to install some sort of door whereby my cats could still pass through the bottom of in order to use their 'facilities.' Maybe a little swinging saloon door? Hmmm...See ya! Gotta go check out Lowe's.

Decisions, decisions

Fortunately, I slept like a baby last night after having insomnia the night before. But, here it is 3:05 AM and I'm wide awake again...

I've been researching in preparation for buying a car next month. My son wants me to buy a convertible, which would be practical to own in warm and sunny Georgia. However, I want to pay for the car outright without having that monthly finance charge, so I can only afford to buy a used convertible...So,

I've been looking at restored VW Beetles and found several within my budget. I have owned three Bugs in my lifetime, never a convertible. I think it would be fun to drive around Savannah in a convertible Beetle ~ plus I'd never have to worry about fitting into a tight parking space. I think I could even manage to parallel park it. A Beetle is about the only vehicle I believe I could parallel park as it's been almost three years since I've owned a car.

Tonight, I also found a gorgeous red '98 Ford Mustang covertible that's got my name on it...

And I've thoroughly researched the 2007 Toyota Yaris which is well within my price range and gets great gas mileage to boot.

I'll just have to sleep on this ~ if I can ever fall asleep!